A man suffered serious burns to his neck after a gas explosion at a Telford factory. The victim, believed to be 35, was taken to the town’s Princess Royal Hospital.

The blast involved an oxygen cylinder at GKN Sankey in Hadley Castle.

Officials from the firm and the fire service were today investigating what caused the “minor explosion” in a press shop shortly before 6.45pm yesterday.

A crew from Wellington Fire Station was called out and sub officer Aubrey Thomas said: “The cause is being investigated but it was a minor gas explosion in one of the press shops involving an oxygen cylinder.

“One man received burns to the neck and was treated by ambulance staff and taken to hospital.”

He said there was no damage to the building and it did not have to be evacuated.

“The press shop is a massive building with lots of presses in. There would have been other people present but nobody else was injured. I believe the injured man was 35.”

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “On arrival at the scene, ambulance crews found a man who had suffered serious burns after an industrial accident.

“The man, believed to be in his 30s, was treated at the scene and transferred to Princess Royal Hospital.”

A GKN Sankey spokesman said today: “A production operative was working at a press and a nearby oxygen cylinder ruptured.

“He suffered slight burns and was attended to by the plant’s first aid personnel.

“He was taken to hospital and allowed home last night and he will be returning to work this afternoon. Obviously we are looking into what happened.”